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Rachael Rollins is resigning — ‘in disgrace’ says Sen. Cotton

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

Rachael Rollins is resigning her coveted Massachusetts U.S. Attorney post ahead of an ethics probe to be released tomorrow about her ill-advised appearance at a Biden fundraiser last summer that was first reported by the Herald.The blockbuster announcement comes as U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) said today he warned her “history of poor judgment” would blow back on the office. Rollins is the top prosecutor in the region.Cotton had called for a Department of Justice investigation after Rollins attended a Democratic fundraiser in Andover in July where First Lady Jill Biden was the star guest.“I warned Democratic senators that Rachael Rollins wasn’t only a pro-criminal ideologue, but also had a history of poor judgment and ethical lapses,” Cotton told the Herald today.“Now that she has resigned in disgrace,” the Republican from Arkansas added, “the Senate should turn its attention to the corrupt, pro-criminal ideologues at the highest rank...

S&P/TSX composite down almost 300 points Tuesday, U.S. markets also move lower

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

TORONTO — Canada’s main stock index fell almost 300 points Tuesday on the heels of new data showing inflation ticked higher in April, while U.S. stock markets also moved lower.The S&P/TSX composite index was down 297.90 points at 20,242.07, dragged down by losses in the energy sector as well as financials and base metals.In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 336.46 points at 33,014.14. The S&P 500 index was down 26.38 points at 4,109.90, while the Nasdaq composite was down 22.16 points at 12,343.05.The TSX was down after the latest consumer price index showed April inflation was hotter than expected, said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at Purpose Investments.The annual pace of inflation rose in April for the first time since it peaked in June last year, at 4.4 per cent compared with 4.3 per cent in March. Higher mortgage interest costs from central bank rate hikes were one of the drivers of the higher print, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. Taylo...

Kentucky voters choose GOP candidate to take on Democratic Gov. Beshear

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Kentucky voters will settle a crowded Republican primary for governor on Tuesday, choosing a GOP candidate to take on the red-leaning state’s popular Democratic governor in November.Attorney General Daniel Cameron and former United Nations Ambassador Kelly Craft are considered the front-runners in the 12-candidate field vying for the GOP nomination.Although Craft was nominated to her post by Donald Trump, it was Cameron who won the former president’s coveted endorsement early in the campaign. Craft picked up a last-minute endorsement from Trump’s Republican archrival, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. In touting the endorsement, Craft said that DeSantis “sets the example for Republican leaders around the nation.”Whoever gets the most votes in Tuesday’s primary will be the GOP nominee because there is no runoff rule.Incumbent Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear, who is seeking reelection to a second term, awaits the winner of the GOP primary for what’s sure...

Abortion rights face tectonic shift as lawmakers debate sharply curbing procedure in South

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Abortion rights in the U.S. faced another tectonic shift Tuesday as lawmakers debated laws to sharply limit abortion in North and South Carolina, two of the few remaining Southern states with relatively easy access.North Carolina joined South Carolina and Nebraska among the states that have been able to discuss restricting abortion access because the U.S. Supreme Court last year struck down the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling, which established a nationwide right to abortion. The Republican-controlled legislature of North Carolina was attempting to override Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper, who has vetoed legislation banning nearly all abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. The override of his veto could hinge on a single vote.Under another bill up for a vote Tuesday, in the South Carolina House, abortion access would be almost entirely banned after about six weeks of pregnancy. The South Carolina state Senate rejected a proposal to nearly outlaw the procedure. Abort...

4 rescued in major fire in downtown Portland, Oregon, before firefighters pulled back as blaze rages

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Firefighters rescued several people and at least one dog from a dramatic, three-alarm apartment fire in downtown Portland on Tuesday before they were ordered to fall back.Portland Fire & Rescue tweeted that firefighters had been ordered to fall back because of the fire’s growth. It wasn’t immediately clear if there were any casualties. The cause of the blaze wasn’t immediately known.Rick Graves, spokesman for the agency, told KGW-TV at the scene that firefighters had rescued four people but were told to pull back before they could finish searching the building. At several times, windows exploded as the fire ripped through the structure. Authorities were concerned the building might collapse or the flames might spread to another structure just feet away, Graves said. Huge plumes of thick smoke were visible from most areas of the city.“We’re really concerned with a structural collapse as well,” Graves told the station. “We’ve moved our rigs ...

Authorities ID New Mexico gunman who killed 3, wounded 6 as 18-year-old high schooler

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) — The gunman who killed three people and wounded six others while roaming through his northwestern New Mexico neighborhood and apparently firing at random targets was an 18-year-old high school student, authorities said Tuesday.The attack occurred Monday morning in Farmington, a city of about 50,000 people near the Four Corners, where New Mexico, Arizona, Utah and Colorado meet.Witnesses and police say the gunman walked through a neighborhood a short drive from downtown Farmington spraying bullets at cars, homes and passersby until police arrived at the scene and shot and killed him.San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari said at a news conference Tuesday that four officers fired a total of 16 rounds at the gunman, including one of two officers who were wounded. Authorities identified the gunman Tuesday as Beau Wilson.Mayor Nate Duckett said Tuesday both wounded law enforcement officers — a local Farmington officer and a state police officer — were treated and re...

AP Sources: Unknown man slipped undetected inside the home of White House official

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — An unknown man managed to slip undetected inside the home of White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan, according to two people familiar with the incident. The U.S. Secret Service is investigating. The door was apparently unlocked, and the intruder was able to get inside Sullivan’s home around 3 a.m. last month, the people said. Secret Service is investigating whether the person intentionally went into the home or whether it was some kind of accident; the person appeared to be intoxicated, the people said. The people were not authorized to talk about an ongoing investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Sullivan has round-the-clock security. But the agents stationed outside his home did not know that the unknown male accessed inside the Washington home until the man had already gone. Sullivan came outside and told them, the people said. Security is always a top concern for high-level government officials, but there...

Wells Fargo agrees to pay $1 billion to settle shareholders’ class-action lawsuit

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

WASHINGTON (AP) — Wells Fargo has agreed to a pay $1 billion to settle a lawsuit filed by its shareholders who alleged the bank made misleading statements about its compliance with federal regulators after a fake account-opening scandal came to light in 2016.The class-action lawsuit was filed on behalf of hundreds of thousands of public employees of Rhode Island and Mississippi whose retirement funds had invested in Wells Fargo. A federal judge in New York on Tuesday granted preliminary approval of the settlement that was filed late Monday.Wells Fargo has been sanctioned repeatedly by U.S. regulators for violations of consumer protection laws going back to 2016, when employees were found to have opened millions of accounts illegally in order to meet unrealistic sales goals. In addition to inflating sales figures that boosted the company’s stock, the actions by Wells’ employees caused damage to customers’ credit scores and cost some of them money in fees.San Francisco-based Wel...

Which 3 Illinois cities rank among best places to live in the US?

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

DENVER (KDVR) -- U.S. News and World Report has chosen the best places to live in the U.S., and a city in Wisconsin beat out all others, according to rankings released Tuesday.Green Bay has been near the top of the rankings in past years, but this year Cheeseheads can celebrate after the home of the Packers finally took the top spot. "While people who haven’t visited the northeastern Wisconsin metro area may exclusively recognize the city’s name for its NFL team the Packers, the metro area offers varied attractions, from historical and art museums to craft breweries and outdoor activities in both warm and cold weather," the report stated. How much apartment space will $1,500 buys in the top US cities? Green Bay is followed by Huntsville, Alabama, in second place and Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina, third. Three cities in Illinois ranked in the top 150: No. 133 - Rockford, Illinois No. 123 - Chicago, IllinoisNo. 70 - Peoria, IllinoisThe rankings took into consideration factors p...

The most common undergraduate degrees awarded in Illinois

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 20:35:57 GMT

For those who choose to attend college, deciding on where to study—and which field of study to pursue—can be impactful. Each year, about 3 million undergraduate degrees are granted and 2 million of them are bachelor's degrees. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the top three degree programs for the period 2009-2010 through 2019-2020 were business, health programs, and social sciences/history, with psychology, biological/biomedical sciences, and engineering not far behind.Wage variation among fields can vary to an astounding degree. As reported by Stacker in March 2023, "On a national level, those who study nuclear engineering technologies or become technicians in that field have the highest median earnings three years after graduation at $107,804, followed by the fields of biomathematics, bioinformatics, and computational biology ($98,074)." This same report showed that, in some states, graduates in various liberal arts fields—such as English literature, musi...